


If It All Went Wrong

by writerindisguise



Category: Andi Mack (TV)
Genre: First Kiss, Getting Together, M/M, Mentions of homophobia, Not as sad as the title sounds, Supportive Buffy, Supportive Jonah, T. J. Kippen & Amber Are Siblings, TJ's dad is homophobic, Title is from an Ed Sheeran song called Friends, Tyrus - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-08
Updated: 2019-01-14
Packaged: 2019-10-06 14:07:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,442
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17346608
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writerindisguise/pseuds/writerindisguise
Summary: What happens when Buffy finds out that TJ is sleeping at the school? And what happens when Cyrus misinterprets her help as something more?





	1. Chapter 1

“TJ?” That was the only word Buffy could utter as she took in the sight of the groggy, half asleep boy in the locker room. It was early—way too early for any students to be around—and the only reason Buffy was there was because the coach had agreed to open the gym early for her to help some of the girls on the team that wanted extra practice. 

Buffy had gone after yet another basketball that had ended up as far away from its intended target as possible, and followed it into what she had assumed would be an empty boys locker room. 

TJ, for his part, looked equal parts horrified and embarrassed, though in usual TJ fashion, he just scowled to cover how clearly uncomfortable he was. “This is the boys locker room. What’re you doing in here?”

“I’m practicing with my team. It’s an hour before the first bell, what’re you doing here?”

“Leaving,” was the only answer Buffy got as TJ stood, sweatpants and a loose t-shirt hanging off of his body. He pulled on a pair of sneakers and threw his jacket over his shoulder, stalking out of there with all of the confidence that anyone else found in a similarly bizarre situation likely wouldn’t have been capable of. 

More shocked that anything, Buffy didn’t follow him, instead looking around to what he had left out. A blanket and pillow were shoved under a bench by the lockers, and one of the lockers was open, a mismatch of things inside, mostly jumbled, but a toothbrush, comb and a few articles of clothing were all clearly visible. By the time Buffy stepped back out into the gym, the two girls that had come for practice were whispering to each other, and the door was slamming shut behind TJ. 

“What’re you two standing around for? Start moving or we’re running suicides from now until classes start,” Buffy called out. The girls immediately broke away from each other and resumed the free throw drills they had been doing a few minutes before. 

Buffy glanced towards the gym door again. None of the last few minutes made sense, but all she knew was that something was wrong. And as much as she’d had issues with TJ in the past, he’d done a lot to make up for it and get back on her good side. Besides, Cyrus was his friend, and he cared about the stubborn basketball player. 

Who was she trying to fool? She was worried about the idiot. She could come up with a list of reasons why he would be sleeping at the school, and none of them were good. 

TJ of course took it upon himself to spend the rest of the morning avoiding Buffy, and he was damn good at it. Ducking from one class to the next, barely taking ten seconds to stop at his locker. Dodging between groups of people to avoid her until he found the safety of his next classroom. It wasn’t until the bell rang for lunch that Buffy knew she’d be able to catch him. She told Andi and Cyrus that she would meet them in the caf, and plotted an intercept course between TJ’s last class and the caf. 

“You mind? I’m starving,” he snapped at her when she cut him off, standing in front of him in the crowded hallway. Arms crossed over he chest, she raised an eyebrow at him.

“I do mind, actually. And I suggest you start talking now before I ask you in front of Andi and Cyrus why you were sleeping in the—“

“Shut up,” TJ hissed at her, getting uncomfortably close before grabbing her arm and leading her back away from the cafeteria, where students were already emptying out the hall in their efforts to get food that was only barely edible. “What do you want, Dricoll?”

“To know why you’re sleeping at the school for one thing,” Buffy said incredulously.

TJ shrugged. “Accident. I stayed late, coach accidentally locked the door, and my phone was dead so I couldn’t call anyone. Figured it would be fine. Janitor comes by in the morning and would let me out.”

“You had clothes and a toothbrush,” Buffy pointed out in a dry tone. “What’s really going on?”

“Just drop it,” TJ snapped at her. He tried to storm past her, but her hand shot out to grab his arm. She knew he could pull away from her if he wanted to, and he clearly did too from the skeptical look he gave her when he turned around to face her. 

“I guess I could, but if I asked Cyrus if he knows why you’re sleeping a the school, I doubt he’d drop it so easily.” Maybe it was underhanded, but it was effective. They both knew that if Cyrus thought something was wrong, he wouldn’t rest until he knew what it was, and found some way to fix it, or at least help if he could. 

“You can’t tell Cyrus.” TJ was trying to sound intimidating, Buffy could hear it in his voice. But there was also something else there. Something smaller, something desperate. 

“I won’t tell him you’re sleeping here if you tell me why,” Buffy said. TJ didn’t answer immediately, but she could tell he wasn’t going to try to escape her again, so she let her hand drop from his arm. 

As soon as she released her grip, he sighed, turning to lean his back against the wall beside Buffy. She turned to face him, one shoulder against the wall, arms crossed again as she waited in silence for his answer. 

“I meant, you can’t tell him the reason either,” TJ said. Buffy only nodded and his eyes dropped to the floor. For being considerably taller and a bit older that she was, he looks so small. His shoulders hunched forward, legs out in front of him a bit so that when he leaned back against the wall, he slid down a bit to be closer to her height. “My dad kicked me out.” His voice was barely above a whisper when he said it. 

“When? Why?” Buffy asked, not bothering to keep her voice down. She sounded just as angry as she had before, but her anger had a new target. 

“Keep it down,” TJ hissed at her. Buffy pressed her lips together, unhappy about the request, but sighed quietly and otherwise remained silent. “A few days ago,” he finally answered quietly. He looked down the hall towards where the rest of the students had disappeared for lunch before he continued. “The why doesn’t matter. He just— he kicked me out, alright?”

“What do you mean the why doesn’t matter?” Buffy asked, her voice like the angry hiss of a serpent ready to strike. “It absolutely matters. He can’t just kick you out. You’re a minor, for one thing. You can—“

“I can what?” TJ snapped, his voice suddenly loud enough to make Buffy flinch. He looked guilty about that for half a second before the anger was back. “I can call child protective services? Have my dad tell them that he doesn’t want me, so they can throw me into the damn system, where I can be shipped around to families as the problem child, getting in fights with the other foster kids, and having to change schools? Screw that. I’m not calling anyone, and neither are you.” Buffy was fairly certain the words were intended as a threat, but they cane out as more of a plea. 

“I won’t call anyone,” she said, and he visibly relaxed. “But you can’t keep sleeping in the gym. A teacher will find you, or the coach will find you. And they will call someone. They’re probably bound by school code or something to call child protective services if something like that happens.”

“I know,” TJ muttered, eyes dropping again. Buffy didn’t ask why he didn’t go stay with a friend. She knew the answer. He wasn’t talking to his friends anymore since the incident with the gun. And he clearly didn’t want to tell Cyrus, so he couldn’t ask to stay with him either. As much as she disliked TJ sometimes—alright fine, most of the time—she felt bad for him. And she had to respect how far he’d come, and the changes he’d made in his groups of friends in light of what had happened. 

“Tell me why your dad kicked you out,” Buffy said, earning only a scoff from the boy. “Tell me, and I’ll talk to my mom about you staying in the spare room at our house. And I won’t tell Cyrus.”

TJ stared at her for a long moment before calling her bluff. “You gonna talk to your mom and let me stay there even if I don’t tell you?” He asked.

“Maybe,” Buffy admitted, though her tone didn’t offer the kind of leeway that her response did. Of course she wasn’t going to just leave him hiding and sleeping in the locker room if she could do anything about it. But she also wanted an answer.

He smiled and let out a short chuckle. She smiled a little. With that single statement, she knew she’d won. Trying to out stubborn him flat-out would get her nowhere, but allowing some small amount of leeway while staying focused on what she wanted him to tell her— that would work. “You won’t tell Cyrus, right? Or Andi, or Jonah—No one?”

“Promise,” Buffy said. Now she was starting to get concerned. How bad was it that he had to ask her to make the same promise several times before he would tell her?

“It was stupid,” he said with an annoyed sigh, rolling his eyes. “We were just watching some movie— me and my dad. And there was just some reference— I don’t even remember what they said, or what the scene was about— but there was a gay couple, and my dad just started going off, complaining about how they ruined a perfectly good movie with a couple of— Whatever. Anyway, I got pissed and started arguing with him. And hell if I know what possessed me to do it, but I told him—I—“ He broke off for a second, and Buffy almost stopped him. His eyes were red and he stared up at the ceiling, willing himself not to let the tears, whether formed of sadness or frustration, fall. She almost stopped him, because she knew where this was going. Knew what he was going to say, but then he continued. “I told him I’m gay. I don’t know if I just wanted to piss him off, or if I thought it would change his mind, or what. But he told me to leave and not come back.”

Buffy still didn’t say anything for a second when his gaze dropped from the ceiling to meet hers again. Green eyes silently dared her to say something, to take back her offer, her promise, anything. She took a shaky breath, and when she tried to speak, her chest tightened. She didn’t expect it to be this difficult to talk to TJ. She didn’t expect to want to defend him, to protect him, from anything. As far as she had been concerned for most of the time that she’d known him, he’d always deserved the punishments he got. For being cruel to her during practices or games, for treating her like she didn’t belong on the team. But he didn’t deserve this. That old TJ didn’t deserve this, and the newly changed one since he’d been hanging around with Cyrus definitely didn’t. 

“Why don’t you want Cyrus to know?” Buffy asked. “He’s not going to freak out, I promise.” At least, not freak out in a negative way. Even though Cyrus hadn’t said anything, she could tell by the way Cyrus talked about TJ, how he insisted that Buffy give him the chance to redeem himself. He cared about TJ, and wanted his friends to accept him as well. “He’s not going to hate you for being gay.”

Tj scoffed, but a tiny smile quirked up the side of his lips. “I know he won’t hate me,” he said. 

“You know,” Buffy said carefully. She didn’t want to out her best friend, but something in his voice implied that he already knew.

“I’ll tell him, I’m just not ready to yet,” TJ said, ignoring her words. “So don’t tell him, alright?”

“Okay,” Buffy agreed. Silence stretched for a minute before he pushed away from the wall and she took a step back from him. “I’ll call my mom after lunch. I’m sure she’ll be fine with you staying with us for a while.”

“Thanks,” TJ said. He still didn’t look entirely relaxed, or like he fully believed her, but it was a start. And it would be alright. Right?


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Buffy gets used to TJ being around all the time, Cyrus opens up to Jonah.

This was a horrible idea. 

The worst idea possibly ever in the history of bad ideas.

Buffy’s mom adored TJ from the second she met him, and it pissed Buffy off to no end.

Did she not even realize this was the guy that had tormented her, treated her like she wasn’t good enough, and pushed her until she ended up started a girl’s basketball team? Which, alright, wasn’t the worst way it all could’ve ended, but still. 

TJ charmed her mother and acted like some kind of saint, thanking her a hundred times for letting him stay with them, and complimenting everything from the old decor in the living room to the food that her mom had definitely burnt at least a little. 

Going to school the next morning was a relief. Even if her mom had to drop TJ off two hours before classes started along with her, because she said she wasn’t making the drive twice just because Buffy had early morning practice and TJ didn’t. It wasn’t so bad though, really. TJ sat on the bleachers doing homework and only occasionally yelling out commentary during the practice session.

About twenty minutes before the first bell, when Buffy was having the girls stretch and cool down before they got changed, the gym door opened and Cyrus joined them.

“Morning everyone!” He called out happily. Buffy smiled, and she could see TJ out of the corner of her eye leaving his books behind in favor of greeting their new arrival.

“You’re here early,” Buffy commented.

“Figured I’d come cheer on the new basketball team,” Cyrus said brightly. 

“Then you should’ve been here an hour ago,” Buffy teased, but Cyrus only laughed a bit and turned his attention to TJ instead. His head tilted to the side, his eyes confused though smile no less vibrant when he turned his attention to TJ. And Cyrus had said TJ looked like a puppy who passed a math test. Buffy rolled her eyes and turned to tell the girls to go get changed. 

“Why are you here so early?” Cyrus asked. Buffy hovered just long enough to hear TJ start to offer a ridiculous lie as an excuse.

“Just, you know, my dad had to go into work early, so he dropped me off on his way. I knew the gym would be open for Buffy’s practice, so figured I’d just come sit in here and do some homework.” Buffy sighed, not knowing or caring if it was loud enough for the boys to hear as she followed the other two girls into the locker room to get changed.

——————————

“You can’t keep lying to him,” Buffy said. School was out and Andi and Cyrus had already left. Again, Cyrus had looked at TJ with a bright smile when the boy just hovered around them, not leaving and staying by Buffy’s side when he left with his mom. At least he didn’t ask anything about it. 

“I’m not going to. Not for long,” TJ said.

“The longer you wait to tell him, the longer it’ll take him forgive you,” Buffy said. She wasn’t even sure if it was true. Cyrus had shown several times over that he had a soft spot when it came to TJ. He would forgive him for anything. Still, lying was something that Buffy knew would hit Cyrus harder than any of TJ’s past transgressions. 

“Once he finds out why though, he’d understand,” TJ said. His words sounded certain, but his tone was anything but. 

“Will he though?” Buffy asked impatiently, turning to look at him, lips pressed together in an expression that warned TJ to tread very lightly. “Because I don’t even know why you’re lying to him. It’s Cyrus. He’s not going to be mad, you know that. If anything, he’ll just be concerned and want to help.”

“I’m just not ready for him to know yet,” TJ insisted.

“Why?”

“Are you going to imply that my staying with you is dependent on me answering you again?” TJ asked in a deadpan tone.

“No. Just hoping you’d be man enough to actually answer me without threats,” Buffy said, feigned smile in place. At least for TJ’s benefit, she paused to glance around them, making sure no one was within earshot, before she continued in a harsh whisper. “Why do you not want to tell Cyrus you’re—”

“Your mom’s here, let’s go,” TJ cut her off, walking away before she had a chance to respond. Buffy rolled her eyes and sighed, but followed anyway. This was already a huge headache. And it had only been a day. 

——————————

“Are you sure you don’t mind?” Andi asked again, even as she was pulling on her sweater and reaching for her bag under the table.

“It’s fine, go. Tell Amber we said hi,” Jonah said, offering a warm smile. 

“Just don’t forget us little people now that you’re hanging out with the cool kids,” Cyrus teased.

“They can’t beat the coolest kids I’ve been hanging out with,” Andi said, returning Cyrus’s bright smile as she stood up. “I’ll call you later, ok?”

She was gone a moment later, and Cyrus reached out for the remainder of her baby taters. Jonah just laughed. 

“You saw Buffy’s extra practice session, right?” Jonah asked, stealing one of the baby taters for himself. 

“Part of it,” Cyrus said sheepishly. It was only a little bit of a lie. He hadn’t seen much, since Buffy was wrapping up the practice when he came in, but he also wouldn’t have understood much of what was going on anyway even if he’d been there, so really it was the same thing. 

“Do you think they’ll have a chance in Friday’s game?” Jonah asked. He sounded genuinely concerned, and Cyrus had to smile a bit. It was worrying, their first game as a new team, but Cyrus was pretty confident in Buffy’s team captain abilities. 

“Definitely,” Cyrus said confidently. “Hey, are you coming early to see the boys’ game?”

Jonah made a face at him. “Why would I do that? Are you going to their game? Buffy doesn’t play on their team anymore.”

“TJ still does,” Cyrus pointed out. He didn’t miss the way Jonah tensed a bit at the name and shrugged noncommittally. He didn’t understand why Jonah always acted a bit… odd, whenever TJ was around, or whenever someone said his name.

“No, I’m not going,” Jonah muttered. “Why are you going?”

“Because he’s my friend,” Cyrus said. Wasn’t that obvious? He didn’t understand or even like the game, but he’d always gone to support Buffy. Was it so weird that he was going to support TJ too? “Why don’t you like him?”

“I didn’t—I never said I don’t like him,” Jonah said quietly.

“But you don’t,” Cyrus pointed out stubbornly. “You don’t talk to him when he’s around, and you get all weird and annoyed whenever one of talks about him.”

“Whenever you talk about him,” Jonah clarified. “Whenever Buffy talks about him, she’s complaining about him being a bully. That kind of talk I can get behind.”

“Jonah,” Cyrus whined. 

“Sorry,” Jonah said. He sighed heavily. “He just—He was always a jerk.” 

“I know he was mean to Buffy, but she’s forgiven him. He was even hanging around during her extra practice session this morning, and after school,” Cyrus said. He had bene surprised, but he couldn’t be happier that Buffy was closer to being friends with TJ. He didn’t want his friends to hate each other. 

“I’m not just talking about that,” Jonah said. Cyrus gave him a confused look, and he crossed his arms, eyes dropping to the top of the table. “I didn’t mention it before but, before I hung out with you and Andi and Buffy, TJ was one of my best friends. When we were little, we did everything together. Then he started middle school, and I was still a year behind him. I thought, you know, it’d all go back to normal when I went into middle school too, right? When we hung out outside of school that year, it was all fine. He talked more about his new friends, and left me to go hang out with them sometimes, but we were still cool. When I got to middle school though, he started being a complete jerk.”

Cyrus just stared at him for a long minute. “I—I didn’t even know you two were friends,” he said quietly. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

Jonah shrugged and leaned forward with his arms on the table, but still wouldn’t look up at Cyrus. “Didn’t seem important, I guess. The only time he even crossed paths with my new friends was when he was being mean to Buffy, and she hated him. So why did I need to tell her I hated him too? I didn’t think he’d be anything other than just a jerk to everyone.”

“You didn’t think he’d be a position to be a friend again,” Cyrus said, starting to understand. Jonah’s logic made sense, in some odd way. He didn’t need to warn his friends not be friends with TJ if it seemed like no one was going to be friends with him anyway. Then Cyrus had to go and break the pattern. “He’s changed though. He’s a good person.”

“I thought he was a good person too,” Jonah said, finally looking up at Cyrus. It broke him, seeing Jonah like that. The pain in his eyes as he looked back at Cyrus was heartbreaking. Even though what he’d told Buffy was true—his crush on Jonah really was gone—he still hated seeing his friend like that. But he couldn’t just cut TJ out of his life either. The mere thought was just as painful. 

Cyrus didn’t realize his eyes were filling with tears until Jonah reached out and grabbed his arm, eyes shifting from pain to panic. “Hey, I’m sorry. I know he’s your friend, and I’m trying, I swear. I see how he’s changing. He is more like the friend he used to be, and I hope he stays that way. I really do. I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“No, don’t apologize,” Cyrus said, shaking his head. His free hand raised up to wipe at his cheeks. “I get it. And you don’t—you don’t have to pretend to be friends with him just cause I’m friends with him. But I don’t want—I can’t just—“

“Stop,” Jonah insisted gently. He squeezed Cyrus’s arm before pulling his hand back, a soft, if a bit sad smile on his face. “I’m not asking you to stop being friends with him. I wouldn’t do that. And I am trying. I’m not as mad at him as I was. I’m trying to understand—I know he made new friends when he went to middle school, and he was just trying to fit in with them. I’m still not happy about it, but he’s changing, and I’m trying to see that. I’m trying to be nicer to him and be friends with him again, for you.”

“You don’t have to,” Cyrus insisted. “Not for me.” Jonah smiled, and it was less sad this time and more—Cyrus could only describe it as mischievous, though that word didn’t seem to fit Jonah.

“Yeah, I do actually. I can’t dislike a guy if he’s good enough for you to like him,” Jonah said.

Cyrus laughed a bit and shook his head. “I’m not sure if I’m the best judge of character. I’m friends with you after all,” he teased. Jonah laughed, and Cyrus was at least glad he seemed to be feeling a bit better.

“That’s not what I meant,” Jonah said, a hint of amusement in his voice. “He’s gotta be at least an okay guy, if he’s good enough for you to _like_ him,” he repeated, with emphasis this time making his statement more clear, and Cyrus’s eyes widened, his smile falling immediately.

“I—What? No, why would you think—No, he’s—TJ is my friend. I like him as a friend,” he insisted. Jonah laughed quietly and shook his head. “What—What makes you think that I _like_ like him?”

Jonah just looked at him, remaining quiet for a minute before he spoke. “Sometime around when I noticed you looking at him the way you used to look at me,” he said shyly. Cyrus opened his mouth to resume his frantic, panicked denials—Jonah hadn’t really known, had he? Had Andi told him? This was a nightmare—but Jonah cut him off before he could even start. “It’s cool, I don’t care. It’s fine, seriously. I know you all think I don’t see what’s going on, and for a while I didn’t, honestly. I didn’t really figure it out until I saw how you looked at TJ, and kind of, recognized it, I guess. I swear, it’s fine.”

Cyrus felt like crying again. And felt like the seat should just eat him, and he wouldn’t have to sit through this tortured embarrassment anymore. “I’m sorry,” Cyrus said quietly, already feeling his eyes darted to fill with tears again.

“You don’t have anything to be sorry for,” Jonah said quickly. “My history with him—that’s something me and him have to work out. But he’s always been nice to you, so I get it. Of course you like him. You don’t have to feel bad about that.”

“That’s…not the only thing I’m sorry for,” Cyrus muttered, staring down at his hands in his lap. He sniffled a bit, but didn’t react when Jonah reached out to touch his shoulder in an attempt to draw him attention. 

“Cy, look at me,” he said. Cyrus didn’t for a moment, until he realized Jonah wasn’t going to say anything until he did. When he finally looked up at him, Jonah was smiling a little. “Dude, it’s fine. Seriously.”

“I didn’t mean to make anything weird,” Cyrus said. “And I don’t like you like that anymore. You’re my friend—I don’t want that to change.”

Jonah’s smile widened a bit. How did he just take this in stride so easily? “And I’m still your friend. That’s not going to change. You stuck with me,” he teased, pulling a small smile from Cyrus. He leaned back, all casual demeanor, as if he hadn’t just revealed that he knew his gay male friend had once had a crush on him. “Besides, I’d be hurt if you didn’t like me like that at least a little bit,” he added, holding up his hand, fingers just a hairs width apart. Cyrus laughed a little, eyes dropping again, though he didn’t feel as bad this time. “And it makes me feel better about your crush on TJ, knowing he was really the second choice.” His tone made it clear that he was joking, which Cyrus was glad for. 

Because TJ wasn’t his second choice, not really. Chronologically, maybe, but not comparatively. If he’d known TJ back when he’d first started to suspect he liked guys, his first crush definitely would’ve been TJ instead of Jonah. 

“You’re really not mad?” Cyrus asked, a hopeful smile on his lips as he looked back up at Jonah.

“Of course not,” Jonah said. It was silent for a minute as Cyrus munched on another baby tater. “So, you and TJ,” Jonah finally said. Cyrus could tell he was trying to be excited, curious even. But his tone fell just a little flat. Still, he was trying, and that counted.

“There is no ‘me and TJ,’” Cyrus said. Before Jonah could try and insist, Cyrus quickly tried to change the subject. “So does this mean you’ll come to his game with me on Friday?”

“No,” Jonah answered without hesitation, making Cyrus’s smile falter a bit. “But I’ll come to the next one. And next time you invite him to the Spoon with us, I’ll try and be nicer to him,” he conceded. And at least for now, that was good enough for Cyrus.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so I didn't intend for this conversation with Jonah and Cyrus to happen, but I'm not mad at it. I mostly wanted something in between TJ going to stay with Buffy and what will happen next, so this happened. Also i'm intrigued by the idea of Jonah figuring things out sooner than people give him credit for, but just not saying anything, cause he has no reason to at the time. And I didn't really like or understand the preview of Jonah storming out. I don't buy that he's jealous, but is actually angry about something TJ did. But they're doing a flashback to when they were kids, which makes no sense. Because Jonah has been around TJ before without getting pissed like that. Am I the only one that just doesn't see how that makes sense? Anyway, this is the only way I could make sense of it. As always, comments and kudos are much appreciated.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A surprise visit to Buffy's doesn't exactly turn out how Cyrus plans.

“I'm really glad you’re giving TJ a chance,” Cyrus said cheerfully. He was practically bouncing as he walked beside Buffy towards the cafeteria. “I told you he’d changed since before you left.”

“He certainly has,” Buffy said. Her smile looked a little forced, and Cyrus gave her a confused look.

“Something wrong?” He asked. “Did I say something wrong? Do you still secretly hate him? I thought you two were becoming friends. You’ve been hanging out a lot more lately, and the whole thing with Reed was a mistake—he didn’t know about it, and—“

“Cyrus,” Buffy cut him off, laughing and sounding a bit more like herself, which made Cyrus relax a bit. “No, I don’t secretly hate him. We’re cool now. It’s just, honestly still really weird for me to say that about TJ Kippen.” She was smiling when she said it, but something still felt just…off to Cyrus. Then again, he’d never really been the best at reading social cues, so he just dropped it as they reached Andi waiting outside the cafeteria for them. 

TJ and Jonah joined them, and it was still kind of surreal to Cyrus how easily TJ fit in with everyone once they got used to the idea of him being around. Even Jonah was true to his word and joining in the conversations more with TJ, even jokingly throwing a green bean at him when he teased Jonah about frisbee not being a real sport. 

Things were good.

So Cyrus didn’t think something as small as going to surprise Buffy on Saturday would lead to anything being not good.

He had been so excited about the muffins he’d baked—which he’d had to, because not a single bakery in town had blueberry macadamia muffins—but he wanted another test subject before he forced his possibly inedible concoction onto TJ. 

“Hi Cyrus, I didn’t know you were coming by,” Buffy’s mom said with a warm smile when she opened the door.

“Hi Ms. Driscoll,” Cyrus said politely. “I wanted to surprise Buffy, and ask a favor,” he added with a sheepish smile, holding up a nondescript plastic bag as though it offered any kind of explanation. She just laughed though and waved him in. 

“I think she’s in the shower, but you can wait in her room for her.”

“Thank you,” Cyrus said, already bouncing down the hall. What he didn’t expect was to nearly run into a solid body coming out of the guest room. “Sorry—TJ?” Cyrus questioned.

“Underdog, hey,” TJ said. His surprise was replaced immediately by a wide grin, though Cyrus’s confusion remained, even with a small smile finding it way onto his face.

“What’re you doing here?” Cyrus asked, head tilted a bit to the side in curiosity.

TJ’s grin faltered for a second, but it was the way he answered that was even more concerning. “Oh—Nothing, just. Buffy was uh, helping me study. She—uh, I got sick of the—the library, so—and her mom offered food, if we came here, and you know, I’m not one to turn down a good meal.” If his laugh hadn’t been a bit forced at the end of his words, if he hadn’t stumbled over every other word, if his eyes hadn’t cast around the hallway as if searching for an answer or excuse to be hidden there— Cyrus might’ve believed him.

“Oh, ok,” Cyrus said. In the awkward silence he forced a bright smile and a short laugh. “I’m glad you and Buffy are getting along better.”

“Yeah, yeah me too,” TJ said. His tone was almost back to normal. Something was still just, off though. And the lack of hair gel, as well as shoes, were only a small part of it. “What’s that?” TJ asked, breaking the silence.

“Oh, uh, muffins,” Cyrus said. As soon as he said it, he realized how silly it was for him to bring them to Buffy first. He’d left half the batch at home, to give to TJ. But now it seemed silly not to just give him the ones he’d brought. “For you, actually,” he added, holding the bag out to him.

TJ didn’t look at him like he was weird. He didn’t point out how ridiculous it was that Cyrus had brought muffins for him to Buffy’s house. He just chucked a bit and gave Cyrus a confused look, though his eyes were soft and warm. Why’d he have to do that?

“You brought muffins for me, to Buffy’s house?” TJ asked, though he reached out to take the bag.

“Technically I brought half of the muffins to Buffy, who was supposed to be my guinea pig, but since you’re here, you may as well be the guinea pig to the frankenstein muffins you requested,” Cyrus said. He shrugged, offering a shy half smile. “If they’re terrible, and I didn’t get a chance to try again because you got in the way before they reached my guinea pig, then it’s your own fault.”

TJ laughed, and Cyrus’s smile wasn’t forced anymore. Something was still odd, but he couldn’t help but feel more relaxed around the boy. This was really getting to be a problem. 

“The risk is worth it,” TJ teased. He reached into the bag at the same time they heard the shower turn off. The sound of running water shutting off reminded Cyrus that whatever this was, wasn’t quite right. TJ said he was there studying, but. It all seemed too…. casual wasn’t the right word. 

“I should get going,” Cyrus said quickly, taking a couple steps back down the hallway. 

The bright smile TJ had been wearing fell, his eyes shifting from the muffin in his hand up to Cyrus. He looked hurt, and Cyrus wanted to feel bad—he _did_ feel bad—but he also felt like he couldn’t breathe. It was starting to click into place, slowly, carefully, and he needed to leave before Buffy came out. 

“You just got here,” TJ said.

“Yeah, I know. I just— Remembered my mom needs me. For something,” he said, turning his back and making a beeline for the door. 

Cyrus could feel tears welling up in his eyes, and he was already upset with himself. Why was he doing this? He had no reason to be upset over this. Andi had dated Jonah and yeah, it had been hard. It had hurt. But she was his friend, and he had wanted her to be happy. 

He wanted TJ to be happy too. And Buffy. 

So why did everything hurt still?

He meant to go to the park, but TJ knew where the swings were— did that matter? He wouldn’t be there anyway. He had no reason to try and find Cyrus. 

Then he meant to go to The Spoon and drown himself in baby taters. But he really didn’t want to be around people. Any people. 

So what he ended up doing was sitting on the sidewalk between the park and The Spoon, staring at a crack in the concrete and willing it to give him the answer of which way to go. At least, that’s what he was trying to focus on.

The crack went a little further to his left, towards the park. Buffy wasn’t just hanging out with TJ because Cyrus asked her too.

To the right though, towards The Spoon, there was a dandelion sticking up out of the crack. Of course TJ liked Buffy; she was pretty, athletic, amazing. Everything Cyrus wasn’t. 

The crack was longer to the left, but it was also more jagged, almost painful. Did Andi know too? Jonah? They couldn’t. Buffy wouldn’t tell them first.

To the right, the crack was shorter, smoother, but also more cracks branched off of it, going in every direction. Unless Buffy knew Cyrus like TJ, and she was hiding it from him so he didn’t get hurt.

That was nice of her at least.

“Cyrus?” Buffy’s voice was the last one he wanted to hear. Maybe second to last. He wasn’t sure, but he knew Buffy and TJ both topped the list, fighting for first. As always. 

“Hey Buffy,” Cyrus said, doing his best impression of an excited friend when he looked up at her. He didn’t move from the sidewalk though, and she sat down beside him, knees pulled up to her chest. 

“TJ said you came by,” Buffy said carefully. As if she already knew how weird those words sounded. “Why’d you leave?” Cyrus shrugged, eyes still tracing the uneven line of the crack in the sidewalk. “Cyrus, talk to me. Why’d you come by?”

“Muffins,” Cyrus muttered.

He could feel Buffy’s confused stare. “The muffins TJ was eating? Why’d you bring them to my house?”

“I wanted you to try them first,” he said quietly. “I have more at home, they were for TJ. But since I gave him the ones I was gonna give to you, you can have—“

“Cyrus,” Buffy cut him off, and he fell silent immediately. 

“I’m happy for you,” Cyrus said finally, looking up at her with the biggest smile he could manage. “I didn’t know you liked TJ, but—“

“Wait, what?” Buffy snapped, eyes wide.

“You and TJ,” Cyrus said, smile still firmly in place. “I knew you were getting along better, but I didn’t think—“

“That’s because we’re not,” Buffy interrupted quickly. “I don’t like TJ. That’s not—No. Gross.”

Cyrus’s fake smile fell into a genuine look of confusion. “Then why was he at your house? He said you were helping him study, but. You were in the shower. And he didn’t have any books.”

Buffy pressed her lips together for a second before blowing out a heavy, annoyed sigh. “I can’t exactly tell you,” she said slowly, as if she were carefully choosing each word before going on to the next. 

“Why not?” Cyrus asked. He wasn’t sure if the feeling of hurt was worse now or before when he’d thought she and TJ were dating. At least if she didn’t know he liked TJ, then it wasn’t really betrayal. But outright refusing to confide in him? That kind of hurt was more personal.

“I just can’t,” Buffy said. She reached out and put a hand on his arm. “Please, believe me, I want to tell you. I just can’t. I—“ she broke off and scoffed a bit, shaking her head. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but, I promised TJ.”

“You promised TJ,” Cyrus said flatly. “But I’m supposed to be your best friend.”

“Please don’t be mad,” Buffy said. “Just, talk to him, ok? It’s something he has to tell you, I can’t.”

Cyrus just nodded, looking away from her, not feeling all that much better. At least Buffy didn’t like TJ. But was that really any better when there was exactly zero chance that TJ liked him anyway? TJ was apparently keeping secrets from him, and even worse, making Buffy keep secrets from him. 

He felt Buffy squeeze his arm, and looked up at her, offering a small smile. No words, just enough to let her know that they were ok. Even if he wasn’t. 

“I should go home,” Cyrus said after a minute. He stood, debating the direction for a moment, before turning right. Might as well get an order of baby taters to take home with him. She walked with him to the corner, where she hugged him and they parted ways.

——————————

“You need to talk to Cyrus.”

That was the only greeting TJ heard when the footsteps stopped outside of the room. He didn’t look up from the video game Amber had brought over for him, but his focus was shot. If she knew the first thing about the game, she’d probably realize how off he was as soon as she spoke up.

“Why? What’d he say?”

“He thought you and me were— ugh, I can’t even say it,” Buffy said, sounding like she was going to be sick. 

“He what?” TJ asked, snapping around to face her, video game forgotten. “Gross.” A second later he heard the tell-tale sounds of his character dying on screen, but didn't bother to acknowledge it.

“That’s what I said,” Buffy said quickly. 

“You definitely told him he’s wrong, right? We’re not—anything.”

“We’re barely friends,” Buffy added.

“Forced friends just by having mutual friends,” TJ finished. 

“Yeah, I told him he’s wrong,” Buffy said with a sigh. Her arms were crossed over her chest and she leaned against the doorframe. She reminded TJ of when she was making him talk about why he was sleeping at the school. This was never a good scenario for him. “But he still asked why you were here, and he knew you weren’t studying.”

“How’d he know that?” TJ asked.

“Probably the obvious lack of studying that was going on,” Buffy said in a dry, deadpan tone. 

“So what’d you tell him?” TJ asked, choosing to ignore her tone. He was much more concerned with making sure Buffy didn’t tell Cyrus. She had promised, and as much as he disliked her a while ago, and as much as she got on his nerves, he never thought she would be one to break a promise. She was too high and mighty for that. 

“I didn’t tell him anything,” Buffy snapped. “I’m not going to tell him why you’re here, but I’m not lying for you either.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” TJ demanded. 

“It means that Cyrus knows something’s wrong, but I’m not going to tell him. _You_ need to talk to him, though,” Buffy said firmly. 

“I can’t,” TJ snapped at her.

“You’ll have to just figure it out then,” Buffy threw back at him. He didn’t respond, half wanting to yell at her, but not wanting to upset her mother or get himself kicked out. As much of a pain as Buffy was, he much preferred sleeping here than at the school. When he didn’t respond, Buffy seemed to soften a bit. “TJ, it’s Cyrus. You can talk to him.” He didn’t respond, but just dropped his gaze to the floor. “He’s your friend. And he’s a good person. He won’t judge you, or hate you, or whatever it is you’re afraid of.” 

The truth was, he wasn’t afraid of either of those possibilities. Because he knew Cyrus wouldn’t hate or judge him. But reject him? That one was a solid possibility. One that he was unfortunately having to wrap his head around a lot sooner than he expected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not sure how happy I am with this chapter, but here we go. It'll probably all wrap up in the next chapter. Maybe an epilogue if I'm feeling inspired. (Feel free to leave comments with ideas if you'd like an epilogue!)


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final chapter, TJ finally decides to talk to Cyrus.

TJ was going to be sick.

There were a thousand what-if’s going through his head, but the only definite was that he felt like he was going to puke. Why the hell was he doing this?

Oh right. Because Driscoll couldn’t bear to bring her high and mighty soul down to earth long enough to tell a tiny little white lie to her best friend to cover for TJ. He wondered how her holier than thou attitude would hold up to finding out that she was about to be the sole cause of him losing Cyrus only a week after getting kicked out of his own house. 

The thought was still foreign to him. Like something surreal born out of that moment between sleep and waking, like he wasn’t entirely sure if it was a dream or reality. Some part of him still felt like he was just staying away for a little while, and he’d be going home soon.

Sometime on Friday night though, when his sister came by Buffy’s house to drop off a bag of his clothes and his Xbox, the latter just to make him feel better, it started to sink in. Amber wasn’t ever that nice to him unless something was wrong. It was weird, and it had always been that way. She would poke fun at him, tease him and wouldn’t let him hang out with her and her friends when they were kids. But the second their dad said anything to him, she was there in his defense. She could tease him about staring too long when Zac Efron was on tv, but as soon as their dad made any kind of comment about a gay character in a movie, she would start yelling at him. 

He really wished she’d been home when he and their dad had been watching that stupid movie last week. He only started arguing with him because she hadn’t been there to do it. If she had been there to fight with him, he wouldn’t have let slip that he was exactly like those gay kids in the movie. TJ wouldn’t have said he was gay, he wouldn’t have said anything. As he usually did when she started arguing with their dad over those things, he would’ve just watched the movie. Smiled at the characters, imagining that he knew what they were going through. That some small thread of similarity gave him an insight into the movie, into the characters, that no one else watching would have. 

But she hadn’t been there.

And now TJ was outside of The Spoon after school, after having dodged Cyrus and his friends all day, including Buffy, who had barred him from hanging around in the gym during her extra morning practice session, forcing him to read a book for his English paper on a bench in front of the school. 

Buffy had texted him earlier that she would make sure he had the chance to talk to Cyrus alone if he showed up there, where the pair were hanging out with Andi, eating baby taters and drinking milkshakes. TJ hovered around the outside of The Spoon, debating going inside, when he caught Buffy’s eye through the window. There was no backing out now. She would track him down and drag him back here if she had to. 

TJ made his way inside, putting on a smile as he approached the group’s table. “Hey guys, mind if I sit?” 

"Since when do you ask?” Buffy scoffed, clearly trying to make this as close to normal as she could, but Cyrus wasn’t bothering trying to force a smile, and that little fact made TJ’s heart sink. 

“Probably since he was avoiding us all day,” Andi commented. She looked at him with an odd expression, like she wasn’t sure about him, but was determined to figure out whatever puzzle she had mad him into. “Where were you at lunch?”

“I had to talk to Coleman about doing some extra credit work,” TJ said, which was only half a lie. He had talked to Coleman about exactly that, but it hadn’t been during lunch. With no outward push back against him joining the group, he slid into the empty space beside Cyrus, offering him a warm smile which went unreciprocated. TJ cleared his throat uncomfortably and turned his attention back to the girls. “Speaking of, Driscoll, think you could help me with that?” He asked hopefully. 

She quirked up an eyebrow at him. “I’m not doing it for you,” she said firmly. “I don’t cheat, and I don’t lie, even for my friends.” The double meaning held in her language made him more uncomfortable than he’d like to admit. Not for what she was saying, but for the fact that he understood it. How close had he and Buffy gotten during the week of him staying with her that they could communicate like that without Cyrus or Andi being any the wiser? It was seriously creepy. 

“I’m not asking you to. Just help me,” TJ said. He hated even more that he could lace the same double meaning into the simple statements, and knew she would understand. 

Buffy sighed dramatically. “Fine,” she said before turning to Andi. “Hey Andi, can I come over to Andi Shack? I need your help with my science fair project. I have to make a poster for it and could really use your help decorating it.” 

Andi tore her gaze away from TJ, brightening up immediately at her friend. “Definitely! I have everything we need to make science look fun,” she said excitedly. TJ felt a sense of dread wash over him when her bright, excited gaze turned to Cyrus. “Cy, you want to come?”

“No,” Buffy cut in. TJ had to hand it to her, she didn’t make it sound like an obvious play. She laughed as she said it, offering a clearly fake apologetic smile to him. “Sorry Cyrus, but I don’t trust you anywhere near my science project with art supplies.”

“That’s probably a safe choice,” Cyrus agreed, the first genuine smile TJ had seen on his face in days as he looked at her. He missed that. This was going to be much harder than he’d thought. 

“See you guys later,” Buffy called as she shooed Andi out the door. 

It was silent for a long minute after the door shut, and TJ glanced at Cyrus to see him picking at a baby tater, all traces of that sweet smile form a moment ago completely gone.

“Thanks for the muffins,” TJ finally said just to break the silence. “They were really good.”

“You’re welcome,” Cyrus said quietly. 

“Anything I can get you, TJ?” Amber’s voice broke through as she approached the table. “Hey Cyrus. Is your milkshake ok?” She asked, looking a bit concerned. TJ glanced sideways, and it seemed that Cyrus had barely touched his milkshake.

“Yeah, it’s fine, thanks Amber,” Cyrus said, offering her a small smile. She turned back to TJ and he just shook his head. She walked away and TJ started to stand up. “He really didn’t want to have this conversation with his sister hanging around. 

“Want to go for a walk?” He asked hopefully. Cyrus looked up at him, and for a heart-wrenching second, TJ thought he was going to say no. It looked like he wanted to, but like he couldn’t think of a good enough reason to. _Just give me a few minutes, and I’ll give you a reason to ignore me for as long as you want._

Now that they were walking, in the general direction of the park though it hadn’t been TJ’s intention, he couldn’t think of what to say. How did he start this conversation? I’m gay? My dad hates me? Please don’t hate me too?

“I’ve been staying in Buffy’s guest room for a few days,” he finally said. “Well, like a week, I guess.”

“Ok,” Cyrus said. His tone was uncertain, almost like a question. Like he wasn’t sure if he was supposed to respond, or how to. “Why?”

It was the only logical follow-up question, so TJ had been expecting it, but it didn’t make it any easier to answer. “I uh, I can’t go home,” he said quietly. He let out a shaky breath. If he was doing this, he was all in. “I was sleeping at the school for a few nights, in the locker room in the gym. Buffy found me there last week, the first day of her early morning practices. She talked to her mom, and she said I could stay at her house for a while. I made her promise not to tell anyone.”

“Why?” Cyrus asked again. This time he looked up at TJ though, and his voice as quiet and guarded. Well, it was still quiet, but he was concerned. And as much as TJ didn’t want Cyrus to worry about him, that was better than the alternative. “I mean, why can’t you go home? What happened?”

“My dad happened,” TJ said, looking down at his feet. He opened his mouth, but no words came out. He cleared his throat and tried again to the same end. “Sorry,” he said, his voice coming out a bit hoarse. “This is, ah. More difficult than I expected.” And he’d expected it to be really difficult to begin with. But Cyrus was just looking at him with wide eyes. Stopping beside him and reaching out to put a hand on TJ’s arm, forcing him to stop and turn to face the younger boy. 

“You can tell me,” Cyrus said gently. “But you don’t have to, if you don’t want to. It’s okay.”

“No, I do have to,” TJ said with a sad, half smile. And not just because of Buffy. He did need to tell Cyrus. He trusted Cyrus, and he couldn’t just keep this from him. “Long story short, my dad kicked me out because,” he paused, took a deep breath, and let the words out in a rush, “Because I’m gay.” 

If Cyrus didn’t still have a hand on his arm, if he hadn’t felt the way Cyrus’s hand clenched a little around his arm before loosening again, he wouldn’t have bene certain the boy had heard him. His face was unreadable. He blinked, just staring for a long moment, before his face crumpled, and he looked like he was going to cry. 

“TJ—I'm so sorry. He's—He'll come around. He wouldn't just—" he broke off, pausing for a long moment, letting TJ dwell in his own thoughts as he put together his. "I'm sorry. You—That’s what you didn’t want to tell me?” Cyrus questioned. “TJ, why would you be afraid to tell me that? Of course I’m not going to judge you, you’re still my friend.” There was a tinge of hurt in his words, and TJ understood why. It was the same hurt that had been much more apparent in Amber’s tone when she found out from their dad. She had been hurt, and now Cyrus was, that it seemed like he hadn’t trusted either of them enough to tell them sooner. 

“That’s—That’s not the part I was afraid to tell you,”TJ said carefully. He was shaking, and he knew Cyrus could tell by the way his hand tightened a bit on his arm. He still hadn’t let go, and that was worse. Because he would as soon as TJ continued, and he didn’t think he could handle that. 

“TJ, you don’t have to be afraid to tell me anything,” Cyrus said earnestly. Cyrus was looking at him in that way that made him feel like nothing else in the world mattered to him aside from TJ. How he always managed to do that, TJ would never understand. 

“I know, Underdog,” TJ said with a small smile before dropping his gaze. “I just—I didn’t tell you that before because, there’s something else too. And if I didn’t tell you both at the same time, I knew I’d just. Chicken out and not tell you the rest. Possibly ever.”

“Ok, so what’s the rest?”

“And I should’ve just told you when Buffy found out, and I know I shouldn’t have made her keep it from you,” TJ kept going, nervous energy pushing him forward past Cyrus’s questions and confused gaze. “I’m sorry, for not telling you sooner, and for asking her to lie to you— which she is completely incapable of, by the way.”

“I’ve noticed,” Cyrus said with a short laugh. 

“But I couldn’t—My dad just kicked me out. And that was—a lot, and I couldn’t,” he paused, taking a second to breath and try to keep his voice from shaking as he continued. “I wasn’t sure that I could handle losing you too, right after that.”

“Why do you think you’d lose me?” Cyrus asked, eyes wide.

“Because, I like you, Cy,” TJ said quietly. “I really _like_ you.” TJ felt the cold air on his arm as soon as Cyrus’s hand dropped away. He squeezed his eyes shut for a second, then opened them again, words falling from his lips uncontrollably before Cyrus had a chance to speak. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything. I just couldn’t—I couldn’t _not_ say it. I just, you had to know. And its ok, that you don’t like me that way, it’s fine. I just don’t want to lose you as a friend. You’re the closest friend I’ve ever had, the only person I can really talk to, and I don’t want to lose that, please. You don’t like me like that, then it’s ok. I can—It’s ok.”

“It’s ok?” Cyrus asked quietly. His eyes were wide, face unreadable. He looked surprised, but not upset. That was something. Even if his words felt like a dull knife stabbing at TJ’s chest. Before TJ could respond, Cyrus was smiling a little, a light blush to his cheeks as he kept going. “Is it—Is it ok if I _do_ like you, like that?” 

There were probably a hundred good responses to that. Cute, joking responses, sarcastic, teasing responses, or just heartfelt responses. But what came out of TJ’s mouth was none of those.

“What?”

Cyrus laughed a little, head down to hide the blush on his face and shy smile on his lips, but after a second, his eyes flicked up to look at TJ and he—there was no other word for it—melted. A smile slowly crept across his face, not quite ecstatic, but hopeful. He didn’t want to get his hopes up in case he’d misunderstood, but the look on Cyrus’s face said that he hadn’t.

“I like you too, TJ,” Cyrus said shyly. He reached out again, replacing his hand on TJ’s arm, but this time it trailed down until he could intertwine his fingers with TJ’s. 

TJ knew he should think of something clever to say. Buffy would tease that the old TJ was never lacking for a sarcastic comment. But a comment appropriate for this? He was completely lost. All he could do was smile widely at Cyrus and lean down to press a kiss against his cheek in lieu of giving an actual, verbal response. 

“Uh, swings?” TJ managed to ask, nodding towards the swings not far away. Cyrus laughed and nodded, tugging on TJ’s hand as he started walking across the grass. 

They were quiet for a few minutes until they reached the swings. TJ was half convinced tat if he said anything to break the silence, it would all end and he would wake up. Cyrus of course, was the first one to speak when they reached the swings, a second after squeezing his hand before dropping it in favor of grabbing onto the swing he’d dropped onto instead.

Cyrus laughed, sudden and loud, earning an odd look form TJ. He just shook his head, taking a second to stop laughing, though a huge grin remained on his face as he looked back at TJ. “I can’t believe I thought you liked Buffy.”

TJ groaned, squeezing his eyes shut and shaking his head, earning another loud, beautiful laugh from Cyrus. “Disgusting. Don’t remind me.” He couldn’t help but laugh a bit too, seeing the bright smile on Cyrus’s face. 

“Hey, she’s not the bad. Totally worthy of crushes,” Cyrus said, his tone almost defensive if his smile and amused gaze didn’t give it away.

“Are you trying to convince me to switch teams?” TJ teased. Cyrus shook his head so fast TJ wondered how he didn’t give himself a headache. 

They stayed on the swings, talking, joking, telling stories of when various friends had found out they were gay or had crushes. TJ even told Cyrus that Reed and Lester had known he had a crush on Cyrus when they went out on the dirt bikes. Those two had been the only people to know TJ was gay, and that was only because Reed guessed after an afternoon in which TJ had spent a solid hour staring at his phone, texting Cyrus, instead of playing video games with them. 

“We should probably go,” Cyrus said, his tone dejected as he let his feet drag on the ground to slow himself down. He looked out towards the edge of the park, where the remnants of sunlight were starting to disappear behind the trees. 

“Probably,” TJ said, just as sad to leave Cyrus, but his tone didn’t hold the same remorse for the end of the day. He’d been psyching himself up for the last hour or so, since it really sank in that Cyrus was still here, that Cyrus liked him too, and maybe this could work. “One thing first, though,” TJ said, standing up and crossing the short distance to stand in front of Cyrus. 

“What? Cyrus asked, a small smile on his lips as he looked up at TJ, his expression all curiosity and wonder. TJ couldn’t help but smile at him as he reached out to hold onto the chains on Cyrus’s swing. He didn’t answer, instead harboring every bit of nerve he had remaining to lean down and press his lips gently against Cyrus’s. 

There was a small, soft sound, almost like a squeak, but Cyrus didn’t pull away. Instead, TJ felt hesitant fingers touch the collar of his shirt, barely clutching at the fabric as Cyrus started to kiss him back, shy and slow. TJ smiled a bit, and it was all he could do not to laugh at the very Cyrus-like reaction. TJ pulled back, his own bright smile matching Cyrus’s, and he couldn’t help but lean down to claim one more chaste kiss before pulling away, reaching out to pull Cyrus up from the swing.

As they walked hand in hand down the sidewalk, TJ couldn’t help thinking that, things weren’t perfect; it would be a while before they were, if they every could be again. But things were good. A lot better than they’d been in a very, very long time. And maybe that was good enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for your patience, especially as I realize that, for a Tyrus fic, there were very few actual Tyrus scenes. But I hope this one made up for it! I am debating writing an epilogue at some point, maybe with TJ's dad and Amber? Let me know if you'd like that, or anything else you might like for an epilogue instead. As always, kudos and comments are very much appreciated!


End file.
